by Amanda on November 5, 2009
Last week I received an email from Neil Asher in which he included a link to a free Elance E-book. This free e-book has been written for people who want to outsource but it is also a good read for freelance writers who use Elance as a means of getting freelance writing jobs. This e-book explains how buyers can use Elance which you probably won’t find interesting but it also goes on to explain how buyers should screen freelancers, what they should look for and how they should evaluate bids. This is great for freelance writers as it will give you an insight into the mind of the buyer and what they are really looking for.
As you probably know I am a big advocate of Elance and I have been using this website to obtain freelance writing jobs since 2004. I still use Elance and probably complete at least one writing assignment per month. This free Elance e-book is great for all new freelance writers who are confused about finding jobs on Elance and it will explain what you need to include in both your portfolio and your bids.
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by Amanda on May 12, 2009
Choosing a freelance writing job to bid on with Elance isn’t as simple as just logging on and placing a bid and there are a number of things that you should take into consideration before you do this. There are some tricks and tips that can help you make the most of your bids (connects as they are called on Elance) and not waste them.
Connects are explained in the previous post http://ghostwritinguncovered.com/Blog/elance-fees-and-connects-explained/
When you log into your Elance account and go to the Writing and Translation category to find jobs there are a few things that you should do. I always choose the show all category so that I can see a list of all the jobs that are available. Here’s a screen shot of what you should see:
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Elance is making changes again and this time for the better. The introduction of statistics is set to replacing the current ratings system and will aim to award those better performing freelancers. So what are these statistics all about?
These statistics are a new way to display freelancers activities and they will show how freelancers are doing compared to other providers. These statistics will work on a points bases that will be calculated on your work and activity on Elance. You accumulate points by:
Service Delivery
Service Delivery points will increase when you receive high ratings for your work and you use the Elance Work System (e.g. workrooms and status reports, payment, and feedback). Points are deducted for policy violations and cancellations due to poor performance.
Client Relationships:
Client Relationship points increase when you receive positive client recommendations, retain clients and grow earnings per client on Elance.
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Continuing with my Elance series, today I want to focus on Elance membership fees and explain exactly what connects are.
Elance Membership Fees
Membership fees with Elance vary depending on the subscription you choose.
- Free Subscription = 3 connects per month, you cannot purchase more connects
- Individual subscription = $9.95 per month and 20 connects. You can purchase more connects
- Small Business subscription = $19.95 per month with 40 connects. You can add 5 people to this membership and you can purchase additional connects.
- Large Business subscriptiion = $39.95 per month with 60 connects. You can add unlimited people to this membership and purchase additional connects.
My Elance subscription is the Individual subscription so I pay $9.95 each month and I receive 20 connects.
What Are Connects?
This is something that confuses quite a lot of people. It would be easy to just say that connects are bids but it’s not that simple. Whilst connects are what you use to bid, each connect does not equate to one bid. The number of connects you need to bid on a project will depend on the project budget. If a project is under $500 you will use up one connect to bid on this project. $500 – $1,000 uses 2 connects, and so forth. This goes up to 4 connects to bid on a project. There are also what are known as featured projects and to bid on these projects you will use double the amount of connects. If the project is for $500 you will need 2 connects to bid on it if it is a featured project.
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by Amanda on April 30, 2009
As you know, this week I am working on a series of articles relating to the freelance jobs bidding website Elance. I mentioned this on Twitter a couple of days ago and I was approached by Maryan Pelland of the Chicago Freelance Writing Examiner who wanted to interview me about my experience with Elance and how I use it. I am delighted to report that the interview is now live and you can read it over at the Chicago Freelance Writing Examiner.
Let me know what you think and be sure to keep an eye out for the next in my Elance series which focuses on Elance membership fees and what are connects.
Until next time,
Keep writing.
by Amanda on April 28, 2009
This week my series of articles focus on Elance. Elance is a website where you can bid on freelance writing jobs. It is a paid membership website and this week I want to give you the ins and outs of using Elance, why it’s a good idea to have an Elance account, and how to place bids on Elance. There is a lot of information to cover so be sure to check in daily to read more.
First off let me say I joined Elance back in 2004 and have been a member ever since. Is it something I regret, definitely not. Elance was my starting point as a freelancer and I have gained a lot of knowledge and great clients through Elance.
Do I recommend people join Elance?
Yes.
If you don’t have an Elance account then maybe you should get one. If you are just starting out you might think that you can’t afford to pay a monthly membership but I do believe that $9.95 per month is justifiable.
Like most people you have probably heard that bidding websites should be avoided because they pay peanuts and some of this is correct. Elance however have been around long before these peanut paying jobs started infiltrating the markets and my guess is that they will be around for a lot longer too. With Elance the minimum bid you can place on any job is $50 and the majority of people who place jobs on Elance do so in the knowledge that they will have to pay for this work.
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by Amanda on April 27, 2009
This week is set to be an exciting week here on the Hidden Writer. For starters I will be adding a series of articles on the bidding website Elance. This is a series of 4 articles which will include.
Why You Should Have An Elance Account
Connects and Subscription Fees Explained
How To Choose A Writing Job To Bid On
How To Word Your Bid For Better Success
Also this week I am working on a review for Get A Freelancer which as you know is a free freelance writing jobs website where again you have to bid. My research for this post started yesterday and each day I will be checking out the jobs, placing bids, and reporting my results after 7 days. So keep an eye out for the post next week.
I am also busily preparing for the launch of my new e-book which focuses on multiple streams of income for writers. Currently I am interviewing a number of top freelance writers to get their views and opinions on some of the topics I will be covering in the e-book. If you are interested in taking part in this email interview just head over to my main website Ghostwriting Uncovered and send me a note via the contact page.
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by Amanda on January 20, 2009
If you’ve been freelancing for a while you probably already know the answer to this question:
What’s The Worst Mistake New Freelancers Make?
If you’re new to freelancing or thinking about getting started then keep reading because you will want to know the answer to this. Believe me, it could save you a lot of hardship and sleepless nights.
Most freelancers start off using bidding websites such as Elance, Get A Freelancer, or Guru to name but a few. When you log into these websites and find a job you want to bid on your have to include your price and the amount of time that it will take for you to complete the job.
I have underlined the last part of that paragraph on purpose because this is where you can make big mistakes. I’ve made them, as I’m sure many others have and it is because of this that I can share this knowledge with you.
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by Amanda on January 13, 2009
If you are one of the many people deciding to make the transitition into ghostwriting in 2009 then you are going to want to know where to start. Now I could plug my ghostwriting Uncovered manual here but I’m not going to. If you want to buy it you can 
Today I want to list all the websites I know where you can bid on ghostwriting jobs. I probably won’t be able to list them all so if I miss any that you recommend be sure to place them in the comments. I would like to be able to compile a very comprehensive listing here on The Hidden Writer so that anyone looking for ghostwriting jobs will know where to start. I would also like it if people would post their opinions and experiences with these websites in the comments section because that way we can help prevent time wasting.
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by Amanda on January 12, 2009
This post is bound to stir up some contraversy but it is something that I have been thinking about since doing my first coaching session with a friend of mine last week. I was explaining to her how to use Elance and how to word her bids so that she might stand a chance of winning the job she was after.
So anyway after logging into Elance and getting her to pick a job that she would like to bid on, I set to work showing her how to word her proposal and showcase her talents. The next part was putting a cost on the project. I found myself explaining to her that she would have to bid low in order to get her first job and feedback rating. It was a transcription job and she like myself would have around 10 years experience doing this type of work. We set a bid price of $75 for typing up 7 seminars with a completion date of three working days. Now I know what everyone is thinking….OMG $75 how could you?
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